The Grim Reaper of Justice
by Undertaker-GhostMan
Summary: Reboot of Hero By Night. The Undertaker is the supernatural symbol of justice in Titan City, and now he must contend with a new force of evil that threatens to bring the entire city to its knees. Who is the Stinger, and how far will he go in order to complete his insane plot?
1. Mark

**Author's Note: **This is something of a reboot to my Hero By Night story.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone in this story. They are all the property of WWE and themselves.

He knew he was dying.

As his vision began to blur, he could make out a few shapes. He could see the tress rustle above him. He could make out the stars above them. He could make out the birds flying above his near lifeless body. And above all, he could make out the shapes of the men who had killed him. If nothing else, he would never forget those shapes.

He would never forget the pain, either. Not just from the beating he had just taken, or the bullet that was slowly but surely taking the life from him.

No, it was the horrifying sense of betrayal that was truly painful.

Mark Calaway could only lie there in the desert sand and reflect on how it had come to this. How could he be here right now, seconds away from death, all because of a man who swore he could trust? It shouldn't be possible. It wasn't right. But yet, here he was, lying here in the desert, bleeding out, and seething at the abysmal set of circumstances that led to him being here.

Someone was talking, but Mark could barely hear him. He didn't have much longer, he knew. And then he heard the footsteps coming closer. As the world began to fade to black, he could see the shape of his killer standing over him, pointing the gun directly at his heart.

Mark knew he had time for just one last thought, and it was towards the wife and son he was now leaving behind. If he could, he would have shed a tear for the fact that his wife was about to become a widow, and his son an orphan. He would never be able to watch his son grow up. He would never be able to buy a beautiful gift for his wife, and he…

He heard the gun cock, and he knew it was over.

The man holding the gun said something, but again, Mark wasn't listening. Why should he? He was out of breath, out of time, and he couldn't retort, even if he wanted to.

And then, the heard the sound of the trigger being pulled.

BAA….

Mark awoke with a start.

Mark rubbed his eyes, cursing under his breath. Just once, he would like to get just a few minutes to rest his eyes. But every time he closed them, it replayed, over and over like a bad commercial that just kept popping up. Over and over, he saw the events unfolding that led to his de…

And then he realized what had awoken him in the first place. The police scanner had just come on. There was a mass breakout occurring at the penitentiary. Innocents would be in danger, which means he was needed.

Mark rose from his chair and looked around the crypt that served as his home away from home. Taking a moment to purge that last of his recurring nightmare from his mind, he headed to the special area where his costume was hidden. He pushed open to stone door that concealed it, and began putting it one.

The black bodysuit, the black boots, the black fingerless gloves, the black steel-spiked gauntlets, the black armored chest-plate emblazoned with the TX logo, and black hood attached to a long black cape helped to transform him into something more than human. And as he put on the black leather Phantom-like mask, he became something else entirely.

He was no longer a man.

He was an entity, a ghost, a Deadman. He was a demonic force that rained down punishment upon the evildoers who resided in Titan City.

He was a force of justice given form.

He was Death himself.

He was the Undertaker.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Titan Island Penitentary

Titan Island Penitentiary was described by some as being the worst hell on Earth. It was home to some of the most dangerous psychopaths and murderers to ever threaten the city, and it was run by one of the meanest men on the planet.

His name was Zeb Colter, and he believed in punishment. He lived for it, and relished the opportunity to punish every scumbag who passed through the gates of his prison. Colter did not tolerate criminals of any kind, and his uncompromising attitude towards the men who were incarcerated there had generated no small amount of controversy among the city officials. There had been allegations of Colter's misconduct of inmates: beatings, torture, and worse. There had even been rumors of murders taking place, and some inmates disappearing without a trace. However, no proof could be found to back up these charges, and therefore, Colter had been allowed to remain in charge of the prison.

It was his job to maintain order in this prison.

Right now, however, he was failing.

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Zeb Colter could hear the sounds of gunfire as the intruders made their way deeper and deeper into his prison.

The break-in had started about an hour ago, when an explosion had been heard underneath the Titan Island Penitentiary. A few minutes after that, Colter's people began reporting dead guards in various areas of the prison. Then, someone had identified an intruder, and from there, the situation had been marked by non-stop gunfire.

The guards of the prison were reporting hostiles on various levels, but they had so far been unable to push them back, and no one could figure out what they were here for. Were they here to break someone out, or was it something worse? The hostiles had not displayed any interest in announcing their intentions.

Now, Warden Colter was hiding in his office/safe room. He had already pressed the alarm when the gunfire had started, but the Titan City Police Department was notoriously slow in responding to emergencies emanating from the prison. The fact that they were on an island a bit of ways from the city didn't help, as there was only one bridge connecting them to the mainland, and it was entirely possible that the intruders already had control of it.

For now, the prison guards were on their own in a losing fight, and Colter was running out of options.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the door to his office, and it blew open in a haze of heavy smoke. Colter could see the hostiles barging their way into his office. They wore heavy body armor, and black balaclavas. They were carrying some advanced weaponry, which they were now aiming at him. And in the middle of the intruding group stood one figure that looked completely out of place in a sea of mercenaries.

He must be the ringleader, Colter figured.

The intruders had breached Warden Colter's office, and now they were going to kill him.

There was no one left to help him.

As one of the masked men pulled him away from his desk and stuck a gun to his face, Colter could not even bring himself to speak.

He was about to die.

And then suddenly, the lights went out.


	3. Break-In

It had been surprisingly easy, thought Number 12.

He and his men had gone over the plan repeatedly, but he still was surprised by how easy it was to break into the supposedly-secure Titan Island prison.

Their employer had thought of everything. He had worked out the timing to the last second. He had known how many guards there would be, where they would be, what areas would be the easiest to access, how long it would take for the first casualty to be reported, how long it would take for the TCPD to respond, everything. 12 had to wonder how the boss had come by such detailed information, but for now, he needed to concentrate on the mission at hand.

The mercenaries had already blown the wall, and were now making their way through the lower levels of the prison. The man in charge had ordered them to exterminate all of the guards, and so now, they were taking the prison floor by floor, looking for any prison guards stupid enough to engage them.

12 heard a noise near one of the hallways, and ordered one of his men to investigate it. As Number 27 broke off and headed down the hall, 12 continued to direct his men around the rest of the floor. He could now hear the sounds of gunfire above him. The rest of the mercenaries were apparently engaging the guards. 12 wished he could be there to join them, but he had his assignment, and everyone else had theirs.

"12, come in."

12 tapped his comm, ready for 27's report.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's a woman hiding in here. A doctor, I think" 27 responded.

"Take her out, then" 12 replied, and switched off his mike.

12 checked his watch, trying to mentally calculate how much more time they had before the police arrived and attempted to take back the prison.

Then, he heard a scream.

It had come from the area he had sent 27 to investigate, and it was definitely not a woman's scream. Furthermore, he had heard no gunshot.

Even before he had given the order, the other men in his group were charging down the hall to investigate the sound. 12 didn't give a second thought before charging after them.

They all raced to the room and barged in. There was a blond woman hiding in the corner, a look of complete shock on her face, and no sign of 27.

"What happened here?" 12 demanded. "Where is he?"

The woman just gaped at them, unable to speak, a frightened expression fixed upon her face.

"WHERE IS HE?" 12 repeated, hauling her up off of the ground. "What did you do to him?"

12 suddenly realized something odd. The woman was no longer staring at him, but at a space behind him. 12 turned, and realized that all his men were staring in the direction of the door.

There was a man standing there, dressed head to toe in black, with a black hood and cape, and a black leather mask. He was just positioned in the doorway, staring back at them with a completely blank expression on his face.

"Who the hell are you!?" 12 demanded.

The man in the doorway did not reply. He just continued to stare at them.

12 had had enough. He did not know who this interloper was, and he had just given up trying to find out.

"Take him out!" he ordered his men, and raised his gun to fire.

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**A few minutes ago…**

The Undertaker had arrived at the prison and immediately noticed the giant hole in the wall, where the mercenaries had made their entrance. He had not been able to get any more information from the police scanner as to the identity of the intruders, and what their objective was, but that would not deter him. As far as he was concerned, he could obtain all the information he needed from one of the trespassers.

The Undertaker made his way through the hole, and followed the path the mercenaries had taken. As he raced through the lower levels, he could see the destruction the men had left in their wake, including the innocents they had killed on their way in.

The Undertaker cursed under his breath. He had been too late to save them, but he swore to himself that he would avenge them. If he could reach these men in time, he thought, he may be able to prevent more casualties.

He heard gunfire coming from somewhere in his vicinity, but he could not quite pinpoint the location. He quickened his pace, and now he could make out shapes in front of him. There were masked men going from room to room, possibly looking for stragglers.

The Undertaker would need to deal with each of them before proceeding, but he knew that he needed to do so quickly. Every moment he wasted down here was another moment the rest of their group could be killing other people, or obtaining whatever it was that they had come for.

As he was trying to come up with the best plan for taking them out, he heard a noise coming from one of the rooms nearby. Perhaps there was a survivor in here, he thought. Unfortunately, he had no time to investigate, because the intruders had heard it too.

"27, go find out what that was."

One of the men broke off and headed towards the room. Undertaker made sure he was out of sight as the man passed by. As soon as he was far enough ahead, Undertaker followed him.

"12, come in."

The Undertaker came into the room and immediately found a major problem. The mercenary had found a woman hiding behind the desk in what looked to be someone's office. The woman in question was wearing a white lab coat, which would place her as part of the medical staff, 'Taker figured. The intruder was now standing in front of her with his gun aimed at her.

"What is it?" came the reply.

"There's a woman hiding in here. A doctor, I think" 27 reported.

"Take her out, then".

The Undertaker had to act fast. This man was about to kill this woman. It was time to let the powers of the Dark Side out.

As the man raised his gun, Undertaker grabbed him. The man had just enough time to let out a scream before Undertaker was upon him.

The Undertaker called upon his dark powers, and wrapped the man up in his cape. With only a second's concentration, he willed his power to manifest itself and envelope his victim.

A moment later, the man had disappeared without a trace.

As his cape returned to normal, the Undertaker allowed himself a slight moment of satisfaction. "Number 27" would never hurt anyone ever again, and now he was being punished for all the people he had hurt in his lifetime. Now he was in the place he truly belonged.

Now the man known as 27 could rest in peace.

Undertaker could now hear several footsteps approaching. The man's scream had alerted the others. Undertaker had hoped to avoid that, but he had had no choice he had needed to act. Paying no attention to the woman who was now staring at him with a horrified expression on her face, the Undertaker called upon the Dark Side once again, and disappeared from the office.

Undertaker was now back out in the hall, and he saw other men heading into the room he had just been in. He counted at least ten men, all armed.

Undertaker did not feel like going for the quiet approach this time. This time, he would make his presence felt.

The Undertaker headed back to the room and placed himself in the doorway as he calmly watched what looked to be the leader of the group yelling at the woman he had just saved. He watched as the woman laid eyes on him, and then one of the mercenaries noticed him, too. He tapped one of the others on the shoulder and pointed, and now the rest of them were turning to stare at him. Finally, the leader noticed where everyone's gaze was directed, and turned to gape at the Undertaker.

"Who the hell are you!?" 12 demanded.

The Undertaker said nothing, but waited.

"Take him out!" 12 called out, and raised his gun...

In a flash, the Undertaker had moved from the doorway into the midst of the group, and now he was a flurry of fists and feet, knees and elbows, calling upon his extensive knowledge of mixed martial arts to take out each of the mercenaries one by one before they even knew what had hit them.

It had only taken a minute, hardly a challenge for the Undertaker, but now nine masked men lay at his feet, and only the man known as Number 12 remained. He was stilling aiming his gun at 'Taker, seemingly unable to process what had just happened.

12 managed to come to his senses and fired. The bullet hit the Undertaker square in the chest, but did not affect him at all. 12 fired again, and again, and again, but 'Taker advanced on 12, shaking off each bullet that struck him. 12 was now in a panic, firing wildly, but each shot was just as ineffectual as the last.

The Undertaker reached 12 and wrapped his hand around his throat as 12 continued firing his now-empty gun. 'Taker smacked the gun out of his hand and slammed him against the wall.

"Why are you here?" Undertaker demanded.

"I'm not telling you anything" 12 managed to say, 'Taker's hand still wrapped tightly around his throat.

The Undertaker slammed his fist into 12's face.

"I'm going to ask you again. Why are you here?" he demanded.

This time, 12 said nothing.

Fine, the Undertaker thought. He would have to get his information the hard way. He didn't mind, though. This man was a murderer, and deserved everything that was about to happen to him.

Undertaker threw 12 to the ground, and then brought his boot hard down on 12's fingers.

A resounding crunch filled the room, followed by 12's shrill scream as he cradled his now-broken fingers.

The Undertaker knelt down, glaring straight into 12's eyes.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time…"

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The Undertaker hurriedly left the room, mulling over the information he had received.

It was a mass breakout, he had been told.

Someone had hired a large group of various mercenaries for the sole purpose of breaking out every single person in this prison. But 12 had not known who this person was, or why they were doing this.

The Undertaker could not contemplate what possible reason someone would have for wanting to put who-knows-how-many hardened criminals back out on the streets. Was there a specific person they were trying to break out, or was this part of a larger plan?

There were too many questions surrounding this, nowhere near enough answers.

Regardless, the Undertaker needed to continue. There were a lot more mercenaries in this building, and they all needed to be dealt with before they hurt anyone else. And then, he would deal with their employer.

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
